2023-09-30-accounts

The Alcohol Education Trust

Trustees Annual Report & Accounts For the year ended 30th September 2023

Charity Number: 1186202

(Charity name changed to the Talk About Trust from January 2024)

Providing children and young people with the knowledge, skills and resilience to make safer choices around alcohol and drugs

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Trustees Annual Report

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THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST (changed to the Talk About Trust from January 2024)

REFERENCE AND ADMINSTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS

Trustees	Victoria McDonaugh MA (Hons) PGCE (Chair)
	David Cox
	Stephen Foster
	Richard Mangnall JP FCILA FInst.D
	Andrew Morse BSc Hons
	Keith Newton ACA
	Jackie Sonner BA (Hons) PGCE
	Dr Lara Jayne Wear MB BS BSc DCH (SA) MRCGP
	Alison Winsborough BMus PGCE
Chief Executive	Helena Conibear
Charity Registered Number	1186202 England & Wales
	SC050360 Scotland
Registered Office	Pavilion in the Park
	St John Way
	Poundbury
	Dorchester
	Dorset
	DT1 2FG
Bankers	The Co-Operative Bank
	Business Direct
	PO Box 250
	Skelmersdale
	WN8 6WT
Independent Examiner	S J Hough FCA
	Edwards & Keeping
	Chartered Accountants
	Unity Chambers
	34 High East Street
	Dorchester
	Dorset
	DT1 1HA

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THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST (changed to the Talk About Trust from January 2024)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

The trustees submit their annual report and financial statements of the Alcohol Education Trust (AET) for the year ended 30 September 2023.

The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

Public Benefit

The trustees confirm that to the best of their ability they have consistently complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on the public benefit published by the Commission in exercising their powers or duties.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

The Alcohol Education Trust was originally a ‘Trust’ governed by a Constitution drawn up on 18 October 2010 and registered with the Charity Commission for England & Wales on 2 November 2010 (Reg. No. 1138775) and the Scottish Charity Regulator on 21 June 2018 (Reg No. SC048482). With effect from 1[st] April 2020, the Alcohol Education Trust changed its legal status from a ‘Trust’ to a ‘Charitable Incorporated Organisation’ (CIO) and is now governed by a constitution dated 6[th] November 2019 and registered with the Charity Commission for England & Wales on the same date (Reg. No. 1186202) and the Scottish Charity Regulator on 31 July 2020 (SC050360).

Historical Annual Reports and Accounts have been removed by the Charities Commission from their website but remain available to view at https://alcoholeducationtrust.org/trustees-reports/

Trustee Appointment

Trustees are appointed by the management committee and serve a period of three years at which time they resign by rotation and can offer themselves for re-election.

The Management Team & Trustees

The board of trustees meets 4-5 times a year. The Chief Executive runs the charity with support from seven part-time employees (the Scotland Manager, the Northern Region Manager, the London & South East Manager, the Schools Coordinator, the Finance & Governance Manager and assistant and our Fundraising Manager), and four other part-time self-employed staff. Four people are based regionally in different parts of the UK ensuring schools have local support for training and parent sessions.

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Trustees

Victoria McDonaugh MA (Hons) PGCE, Chair of Trustees was Head of History and Head of Year with a responsibility for PSHE in a large comprehensive in Cricklewood, London. She was High Sheriff of Dorset in 2009/10.

Keith Newton ACA (Finance and PIP Director) is a member of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants. In a career of 33 years at Accenture he worked as a global management consultant specialising in strategic and technology consulting for large scale private and public sector organisations working in Sydney, Chicago, Seoul and Hong Kong. He is a company director, an investor, and advisor to a number of UK and international businesses and charities. He is currently Chairman of the West Country Branch of the Britain-Australia Society (BAS); a Director of the National Britain- Australia Society; a trustee of the BAS Education Trust - BASET; and an advisor to the board of an English public school having previously served as a Member of the Board and Chairmen of the Finance and General-Purpose committee. He serves as a charity trustee with a specialty in finance.

David Cox retired as the Chief Executive of The Benevolent charity (now named The Drinks Trust) at the end of 2018, a role he took up in April 2013. The Drinks Trust supports current and past employees of the UK drinks trade with practical, emotional and financial help when faced with a variety of difficult circumstances, including serious illness, disability, issues with stress or depression, with debt or any family crisis such as a seriously ill partner or child. David has built a deep understanding of issues concerning alcohol and the importance of early intervention and alcohol education. David is a Liveryman of three City Livery Companies and brings a wealth of skills to The Alcohol Education Trust in governance, fund raising and management.

Stephen Foster (Legal) is Head of the Divorce and Family partner team at Stewarts Law. In the Legal 500 2016, Stephen is recommended for his "pragmatism and gravitas" and his reputation as "a strong leader who can manage any situation or individual and steer things to a successful outcome". Chambers describes him as "a great lateral thinker" and Stephen is named as one of the top 10 high asset family lawyers in Spear's Family Law Index.

Andrew Morse BSc (Hons) (Project Management and PIP’s Director) recently retired from the Royal Navy after 35 years as an officer in the Fleet Air Arm flying and instructing on the Lynx helicopter and simulators before transferring into Programme/ Project/Requirements Management in 2004. He brings a range of skills to the AET including project development and management, an understanding of evaluation, training, support and infrastructure, plus time, budget and cost management skills. Andy continues to work part-time as a Reservist in the field of procurement and programme management for the Wildcat helicopter. Having served in the RN and as a father of two, he has an excellent understanding of the need for life skills education to ensure young people are able to make more informed responsible choices about alcohol.

Alison Winsborough BMus, PGCE (Resources, framework and implementation) has strong experience of delivering PSE, previously as Head of PSE and Citizenship at the Sir John Colfax School and IPACA on Portland. Alison is Assistant Principal at Atlantic Academy Portland overseeing Curriculum and Teaching and Learning but she maintains a keen interest in well-being and PSHE Curriculum, contributing widely to lessons and drop-downs.

Alison has worked with an abundance of outside agencies such as AA, SSCT, Safer partnerships, healthcare professionals, Ansbury and other local stakeholders. She is currently part of the Academy's Safeguarding Team. She has 3 children, including one at university, one in sixth form and one in Year 7.

Dr Lara Jayne Wear MB BS BSc DCH (SA) MRCGP (Medical content and safeguarding) trained at Imperial College London including a BSc in Physiology, qualifying in 2007. Lara moved on to hospital rotations at Frimley Park, Surrey and Brighton, Sussex. She lectured in Anatomy at Brighton Medical School before moving to Cape Town where she specialised in Paediatrics and gained the Diploma in Child Health in 2011. Lara decided to pursue her career in General Practice from this point and enrolled in the Wessex GP training programme which brought her to Dorchester, Dorset in 2012. She completed her GP specialist training in 2015 and has been working as a GP in Dorset since this time, becoming a GP Partner at The Prince of Wales Surgery, Poundbury in 2019.

Richard Mangnall JP FCILA FInst.D lives in Dorset but spent most of his professional life in London where he is a Freeman of the City. He practised for over 40 years as a Chartered Loss Adjuster, dealing with a variety of insurance losses including fine art, movie production, advertising and contingency. He is a Fellow and Past President of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters. In parallel with this, he sat on the Westminster Bench (then located at Bow Street & Horseferry Road) latterly becoming Bench Chair for 4 years. He is a past Trustee of the Inner London Magistrates' Courts Poor Box Charity which assists offenders with rehabilitation. On leaving London, he sat on the Guildford Bench and then, upon moving to Shropshire, on the Telford Bench. He is currently a member of the Dorset PCC's Panel monitoring out of court disposals by Dorset Police. In this latter capacity and during his time on the Bench he has been all too well aware of the part played by alcohol in offending, particularly among young people, and the need for rehabilitating outcomes.

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Jackie Sonner BA (Hons) PGCE (safeguarding & policy) is a recently retired Deputy Head teacher from a large Primary Federation in Weymouth. Her responsibilities included staff recruitment and training, curriculum design

and implementation and safeguarding. As the Designated Safeguarding lead Jackie has witnessed the devastating impact on children and their families where there is misuse of alcohol and other substances, and worked with a range of professionals from Health, Social Care and other agencies to provide considered and effective early intervention. In previous roles in 2 other Dorset schools Jackie has gained additional expertise in PSHE and Early Years education. As such she has observed the effects of adult role models and peer pressure on even the youngest children in school and understands the need for high quality education in all aspects of PSHE from the start.

Since retiring in 2021 Jackie has sought to maintain links with education and become involved in her local community. To this end she has become a volunteer at a local Dorchester school and at the Pips holiday club for local children. She has recently become a school governor with link responsibilities for safeguarding.

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Introduction from Vicky McDonaugh, Chair of Trustees

It is with immense pride that we reflect on the work of our small charity over the last 14 years in ensuring children and young people are equipped with the knowledge, resilience and life skills to make safer life choices around alcohol and other substances. We began in 2009 by offering alcohol education and teacher training in mainstream schools for 11 - 16 year olds and have now doubled that remit to age 25 in a myriad of settings. We have developed targeted

programmes for children with additional learning needs and for young people at higher risk of alcohol harms - and then as underage alcohol use and misuse has declined, we have expanded our focus to tackle cannabis, vaping and other substances that affect the health and wellbeing of our young people. Two important developments in our work in 2023 stand out. Firstly, a full year of lifestuff.org, together with direct communication via social media to young adults and secondly, our increasing involvement in the prevention of drink and needle spiking.

From this impact report you will also see that the evaluations done after our training sessions significantly improve the knowledge and confidence of teachers and youth professionals in supporting young people around alcohol and

cannabis, shockingly over half had never received specific training before. Thank you to our hardworking team of trainers for such splendid results in increasing our impact and reach. Our team are also supporting professionals and young people around vaping, poly substance use and other substances.

With regard to spiking, for the second year, we are providing materials to students across the UK to enable them to feel confident to report spiking, recognise the signs and to be able to support someone who has been spiked. This problem is not going away. The police received 6,732 reports of spiking in the year ending April 2023, 957 relating to needle spiking.

Our cafe and community hub continued to exceed all our expectations in 2023. The cafe has become increasingly valued as a community hub for all ages and our outreach activities includes providing training and work placements for vulnerable young adults.

We hope this report will show that there is so much to celebrate and reflect on. I am so grateful to our inspirational CEO and all our staff, Trustees and Directors past and present, for the hard work and leadership they have provided and finally to our wonderful funders, without whom our work in protecting some 300,000 young people each year would not be possible.

Victoria McDonaugh MA PGCE Chair

Mrs V M McDonaugh, Chair of Trustees

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The Alcohol Education Trust (AET) - Theory of change

SERVICE USERS

ACTIVITIES

SHORT TERM OUTCOMES

LONG TERM OUTCOMES

MISSION

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OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Charitable Objectives

To advance education for the benefit of the public concerning the issues of alcohol and substance use of young people (age 11 and upwards) in the UK and their safety around alcohol and other substances, in such ways as the trustees decide, and including through the development and delivery of holistic, life skill and evidence-based approaches and diversionary resources and activities that build resilience, reduce underage drinking and substance use and alcohol and drug related harms amongst such young people (age 11 and upwards).

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Who we are

The Alcohol Education Trust work is built around three pillars: supporting young people, their parents and carers and the professionals who work with them:

Early intervention and prevention approaches for children and young people

Ensuring we equip young people with the knowledge and life skills to make safer choices before any potential problems begin. This primary goal has been enhanced with targeted work for children most vulnerable to alcohol and drug misuse, plus harm reduction approaches for older teenagers and young adults including support on cannabis and vaping.

Supporting teachers and youth professionals with everything they need to deliver effective and engaging alcohol and other substance education (training and resources)

Evidence shows that trusted adults who know the children well are best equipped to deliver health education. The AET therefore provides workshops, training, online and face-to-face support and resources for teachers, youth workers, health professionals and those working day-to-day with 11- 25 year-olds of all abilities and backgrounds.

This is both an affordable and sustainable model as those trained are then confident and equipped to use positive life skill approaches and can cascade their learning to others.

Empower parents and carers

Parents and carers are the key suppliers of alcohol to young people (70%) and play an essential part in

setting boundaries and being good role models. These 'tough love' skills delay the age that young people drink or use other substances and the amount that they drink or experiment. The AET therefore facilitates workshops and seminars and has a dedicated web area for parents and carers, with advice varying from the law, the physical and mental effects of early alcohol use to hosting parties.

Our mission

To support parents, carers, teachers & community leaders to keep young people safe around alcohol and other substances and to reduce negative risk taking.

Our goals

• Raise the age of onset of drinking whole drinks from the current age of 13 to at least the UK Chief Medical Officers' Guidance of age 15 with a longterm goal of the legal purchase age of 18.

• Reduce the prevalence and social acceptability of binge drinking and drunkenness, vaping, cannabis and other substance use among young people.

• Raise awareness of the lifetime risk of early alcohol and other substance use.

• Ensure the life chances of young people most vulnerable to alcohol and drug harm and abuse are improved.

• Reduce the accidents, violence, assault and harm caused to young people and the community by alcohol and drug use.

• Encourage diversionary activities for young people that reduce anti-social behaviour crime and onset of drinking and drug use.

Our core objectives

SUPPORT CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Ensure that young people of all abilities (aged 11-18) are provided with the information, skills and resilience to make safer choices around alcohol and other substances by providing free access to evidenced alcohol and drug education via websites, games, lessons, films and activities in all youth settings across the UK.

Support vulnerable young people at higher risk of alcohol and drug related harms with targeted approaches.

Support young adults up the age of 25, specifically those more vulnerable to alcohol and drug related harms and student populations .

Ensure harm minimisation resources on alcohol and other substances for young people to age 25 are freely available. Provide on line support, workshops, peer to peer training and opportunities for young adults.

SUPPORT SCHOOLS AND YOUTH ORGANISATIONS

Train teachers, health educators (RSHE), youth professionals and community leaders new to the AET programmes face to face and on line on all issues regarding alcohol, cannabis, vaping and other substances.

Support the provision of the Talk About Alcohol programme and other substance resources, websites, films, games, lesson plans and worksheets and SEN specific activities free of charge to schools and youth supporting organisations.

Provide ongoing guidance, training, updates, signposting and new resources to settings currently provided with AET programmes through our regionally based specialist staff throughout England and Scotland.

EMPOWER PARENTS AND CARERS

Equip parents and carers, face-to-face and online, with the necessary skills to keep their children safe around alcohol and other substances.

LOCAL COMMUNITY COHESION

Enhance local community cohesion in Dorset through our community hub Pavilion in The Park to include partnership delivery of diversionary activities and opportunities for training and skills for young people. that in turn reduce anti-social behaviour, crime and onset of drinking and drug use.

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Why we are needed

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

The Problems

• Children who drink regularly and heavily before the age of 15 are significantly more likely to try drugs, smoke, engage in unprotected or risky sex, be injured or assaulted. GCSE predictions fall by 20 points, the difference between a grade 9 and a grade 5. Early drinking is also a significant predictor of problematic use in later life.

• Young people who use drugs when 14 or younger have the greatest risk for drug dependence (34% prevalence rate of lifetime drug use disorders).

• It is also a significant predictor of lifetime alcohol dependence. The most common substances used by teenagers are cannabis, volatile substances (glue, gas, aerosols and solvents), nitrous oxide and new psychoactive substances.

• Low well-being was much more likely amongst pupils who recently smoked, drank and/or have taken drugs as low levels of life satisfaction were at 57% compared to 18% for those who have not smoked, drunk or tried drugs.

• 1 in 5 pupils (18%) have ever and 18.6% young adults aged16 to 24 years reported last year drug use (end June 2022) - 5% of those class A

• 13% of 11-year-olds have had a whole alcoholic drink rising to 65% of 15-year-olds.

• According to ASH vaping prevalence has increased by 50% in one year from one in 13 to one in 9 teenagers with 4 in 5 say they have seen vapes promoted and advertised.

• Of the 11,326 under 18's in treatment, 88% are there predominantly for cannabis and its derivatives, followed by alcohol (45%) - 63% were young males

• o An estimated 1 in 10 under the age of 25 have experienced having their drink spiked or needle spiking and in 2022/23 there were 8,000 cases according to a Channel 4 FOi (from 35 police forces).

• Peers may influence other young people to engage in or refrain from substance use directly or indirectly, there is a dramatic rise in levels of use among young people who believe most, or all of their friends, drink or take drugs.

• Young people who experience childhood adversity and trauma such as emotional or physical abuse, family breakdown or neglect are particularly at risk. A young person experiencing four traumas is 11 times more likely to smoke cannabis and 4 times more likely to binge drink.

• It is estimated that 14% of care leavers drink alcohol every day, a third use cannabis and a third use

• alcohol as ways to cope, deal with anxiety or to help forget trauma.

• Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are three times more likely to face addiction when older. A diagnosis of ADHD or associated behavioural disorder is the greatest predictor of problematic alcohol or drug use.

• Children with learning difficulties are three times more likely to be abused, with alcohol a factor in grooming and violence .

• Young people who drop out of school, are 4 times more likely to be regular cannabis users and 1.2 times more likely to binge drink.

• Excluded children are five times more likely to have used alcohol or drugs on the last month. In 2019/20, 8,099 children were excluded for a fixed period and 513 were excluded permanently from state schools in England due to alcohol or drugs. In 2019, the National Crime Agency found that 100% of children involved in County Lines had been excluded from school, and they also found that being excluded from school is a contributing factor leading to a young person's risk of criminal exploitation

• Alcohol and Drugs can be both a cause and consequence of homelessness and the homeless population is 10 times more likely to be in treatment for alcohol or drugs. 35% of deaths of homeless people were related to drug poisoning in 2021 and 10% were alcohol-specific deaths.

• Prison surveys suggest that 40% of inmates were under the influence of alcohol and 45% were under the influence of drugs at the time of committing an offence.

• Lack of stable employment and lack of stable housing are significant contributors to poor mental health and turning to drink or drugs to cope with deprivation. The most deprived are 7 times more likely to have an alcohol related hospital admission and 16 times more likely to have a drug related hospital admission.

• The total number of children living with people starting treatment was 50,053 in 2023. Young people living with alcohol or drug dependent parents/carers report living highly disrupted, insecure and chaotic lives. They also experience shame, stigma, and discrimination due to their association with a parent/ carer who uses substances.

• o Between 2018/19-2020/21 there were 10,569 alcohol specific hospital admissions for under 18s in England - that's nearly 30 per day.

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Our Solutions

• A whole school approach for every child is crucial, so that we can equip all young people with the skills, knowledge and tools to make safer choices about alcohol and drugs before experimentation begins. The likelihood of lifetime substance misuse drops 4-5% for each year use is delayed, hence independent evaluation showing that our Talk About Alcohol programme significantly raises the age teenagers choose to drink is paramount to improving young people's life chances. We are now piloting these early intervention approaches for vaping, cannabis and other substances.

• We engage children with an interactive online platform talkaboutalcohol.com that encourages them to build knowledge and find out in a fun way, through games and quizzes, about the effects of alcohol and other substances on their physical and mental wellbeing.

• Our activities, rehearsal strategies and role play allow young people to work out for themselves the effect of impulsive behaviour, enabling them to make more responsible, informed choices.

• We have developed a complex suite of resources and training using proven communication methods for young people with learning difficulties using colours, stories, scenarios, pictures, emojis, cartoons and techniques such as distancing and using characters.

• We include cannabis and vaping in our early intervention and harm reduction approaches and support young people, schools, youth and sports clubs as well as parents around both cannabis and vaping.

• We reduce the potential harms from alcohol and cannabis to 16 - 25 year-olds by equipping them with the knowledge, awareness and life skills to make safer choices and where to go for help and support.

• We correct social norms - namely the fact that most young people do not use drugs or get drunk.

• We work closely with partners who ensure disadvantaged young people are given the best chances through building their self-esteem, life skills, training and employability. We support staff with training, resources and the skills to support young adults around alcohol and cannabis misuse and vaping.

• We support young people in alternative education and provide training and resources to those working with them.

• We work closely with virtual school and foster agencies who support care experienced children and care leavers. We have a bespoke alcohol and cannabis programme for 16 - 25 year olds leaving care or at risk of homelessness living in assisted accommodation. Training and resources enable life coaches to have one to one conversations

• around higher harms, levels of use, consequences, grooming, consent and other relevant issues.

• We work very closely with the Youth Offending Teams as well as training staff in pupil referral units being careful not to trigger trauma or stigma at all times.

• Our staff training and materials at all times avoid stigma and triggering trauma and highlight the importance of being supportive, empathetic, nonjudgemental and how to offer targeted support and referral to specialist family charities working in this area specifically.

• We focus our training and support workers in areas of high deprivation where alcohol and substance related harms are highest.

• We have targeted streams of work supporting care experienced children and those who face a greater risk of substance dependency and misuse.

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SCHOOLS & YOUTH PROFESSIONALS

The Problems

• Health Education became a statutory requirement for schools to deliver in September 2020, including alcohol and drug education. Teachers and youth workers cite not having enough time and not being subject experts as barriers to delivering effective health education.

• According to the most recent smoking, drinking and drug use survey, only half of pupils said they received lessons on alcohol (56%), smoking (56%) or drugs (60%)

• Lessons peaked in year 9, and only half of those pupils thought their school gave them enough information about smoking (52%), drinking alcohol (51%) or drug use (48%) . Meaning half of children are not sufficiently prepared for the challenges and choices they will face around alcohol and drugs

• In 2020/21, 22,714 children were excluded for a fixed period and 452 were excluded permanently from state schools in England due to alcohol or drugs

• Schools generally have little budget, training or guidance for RSHE.

Our Solutions

• We provide an easy one stop shop for busy, time poor teachers where they can download lesson plans, implementation and evaluation guidance by topic or by ability for each year group.

• We make our evidenced Talk About Alcohol programme and resources on cannabis and vaping available free of charge to all secondary schools across Britain.

• We train teachers and youth professionals and provide ongoing guidance so they feel confident and knowledgeable in teaching about alcohol and other substances

• We provide games, one to one and small group activities suitable for use with young people in alternative settings, sports and youth clubs together with free training.

• We provide workshops, training and resources to life coaches and mentors of young adults in

• settings such as Foyers, Housing Associations and for organisations such as The Prince's Trust.

• Charities and commissioned services supporting vulnerable children and young adults lack the expertise, resources and training to support them around alcohol and drugs

COMMUNITIES AND FAMILIES

Our Solutions

The Problems

• We help parents and carers to understand why drinking at too young an age and drinking too much can harm their child's short and long term health and also how drinking outside of the home raises the likelihood of other risk taking such as smoking or taking drugs.

• Children living in households where parents drink to excess are more likely to drink early and problematically.

• Young people who use alcohol or drugs have significantly lower parental supervision than those who don't use substances.

• We correct perceived social norms with positive messages on how teenagers are drinking and using substances than they were 10 years ago.

• Parenting that increases alcohol and drug use includes: a lack of parental monitoring, high levels of parent/child conflict and a child's lack of willingness to disclose information to their parents.

• We give positive parenting tips that reduce all risk taking such as how to set boundaries, be a good role model and know where their children are.

• The greater the number of unsupervised evenings with friends, the greater the likelihood that young people will report having consumed alcohol in the last week and having used drugs in the last month.

• We empower parents to resist teen pressure and manipulation.

• We explain teen brain development and how early use of alcohol and other substances significantly increases the likelihood of problematic use and dependency and can permanently change develop- mental pathways.

• Our research shows that 93% of parents and carers overestimate the number of teenagers who drink and get drunk and so supply their children with alcohol, thinking they'll get it elsewhere, otherwise.

• Parents and carers are the prime suppliers of alcohol to under 18s.

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Reflections on the year by CEO, Helena Conibear

It is always humbling to reflect on the number of children, young people, parents or carers, teachers and youth professionals that our small team of 4 regionally based staff and myself equip with the knowledge, resilience and skills to make safer choices around alcohol and other substances

such as cannabis and vaping each year across England and Scotland. In 2022-23 that is an estimated 300,000 young people in over 1,200 new settings such as schools, youth and sports clubs, pupil referral units, special schools and alternative education we have supported.

Their work is made possible through our tireless office team of Kate (supporting us all and managing all resource distribution) and Julie (finance and governance), with Alison managing and maintaining our on-line and printed resources and website development. It has also been a great relief to welcome Donna to help us with fundraising and grant applications this Autumn too.

In 2019 we outlined a 3-year plan to extend our remit to support young adults up the age of 25, young people more vulnerable to alcohol and drug-related harms and student populations. We pledged to:

• Develop our harm minimisation resources for young people age 16+ preparing them for the legal drinking age and its responsibilities and building their resilience to other substance use.

• Expand our digital outreach, training games and interactive material on alcohol, cannabis and more recently, vaping.

• Expand the range of resources offered to cover the effects of the combined use of alcohol and other substances.

• Seek to expand our geographical reach with a specialist regionally based member of staff in London and The South-East, Northern Ireland and Wales.

• Enhance local community cohesion in Dorset through our new facilities to include partnership delivery of diversionary activities and opportunities for training and skills for young people, that in turn reduce anti-social behaviour, crime and onset of drinking and drug use.

We have managed to achieve all of our goals - all of which deepen and strengthen our mission to equip children and young people with the knowledge, skills and resilience to make safer choices around alcohol

and other substances, with the exception of having a member of staff based in Wales or Northern Ireland to work more closely with youth settings, we hope the opportunity will come in time.

The enhanced goals of course, are in addition to our core mission of ensuring that children of all abilities from age 11 in schools and other settings across the UK have free access to:

• our highly evidenced Talk About Alcohol programme and other resources of lessons, online activities, games, picture and story-led activities and websites that inform, empower and enable safer choices.

• that teachers and youth professionals are given free training and resources needed to ensure they can support the young people in their care to make safer choices around alcohol and other substances - to inform and equip parents and carers with the knowledge, confidence and skills to protect their children from early alcohol use and substance use.

Alcohol trends in use and misuse

Since we were founded in 2010, trends in underage drinking in particular have been declining across the UK, Alcohol-related violent crime has fallen by almost half (47%) in Britain since 2009/10 whilst binge drinking (more than 6 - 8 units in one session among UK drinkers has fallen by 29% in the last decade.

However, some alarming statistics are emerging on new people entering treatment for the first time in 202223 (137,749 adults) showing that 63% were seeking help for alcohol, and two-thirds (66%, or 57,802) said it was their only problem substance, the gender gap between men and women is narrowing too, with almost equal numbers of men and women seeking alcohol treatment showing clearly that we mustn't be complacent - alcohol misuse remains a significant problem and every young person deserves comprehensive alcohol education.

Sources (ONS, September 2020 / Scottish Government, March 2021 Health Survey for England, December 2022/ Scottish Health Survey, January 2021.

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Alcohol and substance use among young people

It is important for us to remember that most (8 in 10) young people actively choose not to use drugs, and of those who do, the majority use infrequently. (63% of 16 - 24 year olds who report any drug use, use once a month or less).

However, 5,179 under 18's (46% of total) received support for problematic alcohol use in 2020/21, and there is an increase in problematic cannabis use, 87% of under 18 year olds (9,845) in treatment for substance misuse are there primarily for cannabis.1,389 (12%) reported a problem with nicotine use, 937 (8%) said they had a problem with powder cocaine and the same proportion 896 (8%) reported a problem with ecstasy (MDMA).Young people often enter specialist substance misuse services with a range of problems or vulnerabilities related to (or in addition to) their substance use and by far the biggest contributor to problematic use is early onset of drinking or substance use.

This is why our passion at the Alcohol Education Trust is to ensure we reach children in as many settings as possible before they begin drinking or experimenting - ensuring they have the knowledge and resilience to make safer choices.

Figure 20: trends in numbers in treatment by substance group between 2005 to 2006 and 2023 to 2023

Highlights of the Year

Alcohol and Drug Education Conference

On the 21st June the AET and DSM Foundation held the 4th National Alcohol and Drug Education conference, with an afternoon of hands-on practical workshops for teachers and professionals, kindly hosted by Newcastle University. It was very pertinent that the conference was held in the North East, which has the worst alcohol and drug statistics across England. Professor Chris Day Pro Vice Chancellor of Newcastle University opened the conference. With speakers including Joy Allen, joint lead for drugs and alcohol (nationally) for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Kirsty Blenkins from the Addiction and Inclusion Directorate, Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities and Alice Taylor, Senior Digital Product Manager at DHSC who looks after the Talk to Frank website. You can view the presentations here.

Significant progress on Drink spiking

With over 6,500 cases of reported drink spiking in 2022/2023 (NPCC), up from 5,000 in the previous year, for the second year, we have supported students with 'report and support' advice cards, posters, drink testing kits and keyrings in over 100 Universities and Colleges during 2023, together with a TikTok campaign and online support and information via life-stuff.org. Our drink spiking campaign has included in depth work across North Yorkshire with the support of The North Yorks. Police and Crime Commissioner and very importantly with university nursing staff, sexual health nurses and emergency department and Minor Injury Unit nurses and staff who are often the first point of contact for the victims of drink and needle spiking. We have developed an SMS messaging service for them to use leading to advice and information on how to report the crime and receive support. It is very pleasing to see that campaigning is leading to an updating of the language used in the laws used to prosecute spikers and investment in better drink testing and blood/ urine testing technology by the Home Office. The Police will also run targeted campaigns at key times such as over Christmas and New Year and during Freshers.

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Supporting children with additional learning needs

Over 1.5 million pupils in the UK have special educational needs, affecting one in five children. Having a bespoke programme that uses colours, stories, emojis and pictures to ensure the risks of alcohol are understood is paramount as children with learning difficulties are at significantly higher risk of vulnerability to drugs and alcohol (grooming, county lines and assault as well as alcohol dependency) so we are also thrilled to have supported over 311 schools and providers with our resources, activity sheets, stories quizzes and presentations that use colours, stories and emojis as well as distancing techniques especially designed for young people with SEN since 1st October 2022.

Alcohol and cannabis workshops for young adults

We deliver workshops for vulnerable young adults aged 16+ who are leaving care or at risk of homelessness around alcohol, drugs and mental health. Vulnerable young adults and those leaving care are more prone to turning to alcohol or cannabis as a way of coping and are more vulnerable to recruitment into county lines or grooming. The workshop and staff training are free for all working with vulnerable 16 -25-year olds and young adults and this year it has been a pleasure to work closely with Housing Associations, YMCAs, Youth Justice Services, A Wilderness Way, the Police, with us providing 356 16+ full programme packs to settings in the year 2022-23 with a particular focus on young adults across Scotland thanks to The Inspiring Scotland Youth Action Fund (see our Scotland report) The life-stuff.org website for 16 to 25-year olds complements the workshops for young adults and covers all aspects of wellbeing including gaming, gambling, money worries, domestic abuse, mental health, eating disorders, vaping, cannabis and alcohol. It is informative and non-judgmental and links extensively to the specialist organisations in each area. It has been wonderful to engage directly with young adults via TikTok this year on issues such a drink spiking, safer nights out, preparing for College and other topics.

New Projects

Supporting young people around drugs as well as alcohol

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported 4,907 drug poisoning deaths in 2022, the highest on record. We therefore believe it is essential to use our alcohol prevention skills developed over the last 15 years and built around the International Standards on Drug Use Prevention (UNODC) principles of engaging, immersive. discussion based learning and applying them to teach young people other substance resilience with a focus on vaping, cannabis, MOMA, NOS and Ketamine.

We were thrilled to receive funding from the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick, who is also joint national lead for alcohol and drugs for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, to develop a suite of resources for Year 9 which is being piloted in Dorset during 2024 and evaluated by The Health Psychology Department at Bournemouth University. It's been wonderful to engage with Year 9's and Year 11's in focus groups, as well as with RSHE leads and subject specialists to bring this programme together. The films, lesson plans, teacher guidance, games and PowerPoints will then be made available to all Dorset schools post pilot and will ultimately be freely available to all secondary schools.

Vaping, nicotine and pouches

Due to the shocking rise in vaping among teenagers (34% of 16 and 17-year-olds and 38% of 18-year- olds GB Youth Survey, 2023) and children (15% of 11 to 15-yearolds), we have fast tracked lesson plans, training and resources for schools and youth settings on vaping. We have also made a submission to the

recent government vaping consultation asking for plain packaging, behind counter only, better regulation, and a clamp down on marketing of nicotine products, including pouches to young people, especially on social media. Our ideal would be a ban on single use vapes (Material Focus estimate 1.3 million single-use vapes are thrown away each week) and a 113rd of vapes

available according to Trading Standards are illegal and often contain even higher levels of nicotine than regulations allow as well as THC and other noxious substances. We currently have no idea of the long-term health effects, especially of early onset of use of nicotine (which reduces grey matter in the brain) on our children.

New website and a name change

To reflect our expanded remit, The Alcohol Education Trust is currently rebuilding its website to incorporate the new areas of focus and will be changing its name in February 2024! We are very excited about our new branding and hope you will approve!

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AET outreach from our community hub, Pavilion in The Park

The use of our Pavilion as a community hub is fulfilling its remit so well, providing a regular space for You Trust (housing) as well as NHS Midwives, social prescribing, the deaf community group, a chess club, walkers, The Park Run and Junior Park Run, the Koru project and The Teaching Alliance for Dorset Special Schools for example.

We have expanded our clubs and social events, ensuring they include opportunities for all ages and abilities. From Holiday Clubs, teen hang out days, after school art club, creative clay, senior social, digital help classes, supper clubs, a book swap and more. We have also hosted summer music at The Pavilion and special events for Halloween, Easter and Christmas. You can read our community outreach report here.

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Resource distribution and reach 2022-23

Kate Hooper, Schools and Youth Organisation Coordinator

Training and workshops

It's been another very busy year for us at AET with over 1,230 settings being supported with hard copies or downloads of our resources all across the UK. As always, as well as secondary schools, special schools and alternative education, this includes ensuring young people in football and other sport community outreach, youth

justice services, the police, councils, cadets and children's homes are provided with alcohol and drug education too.

There has been a 50% increase in the number of schools and youth organisations receiving hard copies of resources (our printed 100 page teacher workbook, our activity boxes full of pictures and story led activities for young people with additional learning needs, our workshop materials for young adults

on alcohol and cannabis and our advice leaflets). The largest increase has been for young people in Scotland with 190 settings receiving new resources this year.

We know how well-received our 16+ programme is as it is used with more vulnerable young people, often not in education, employment or education and cover cannabis as well as alcohol. We provided 356 16+ resources boxes this year (an increase from 221 the year before) and are extending the resource to include vaping.

There has been a large increase in use of our online teaching materials too - with 50% more teacher workbooks downloaded and a 30% increase in the number of SEN resources downloaded. When downloading our resources, we ask people to tell us how they heard about us. One quarter of respondents heard about us via a recommendation which is wonderful.

The staff and youth professionals we train are equipped with the knowledge and skills to support young people aged 11- 25 day to day around alcohol and drugs and to cascade their learning to other staff. There has been a 50% increase in the number of workshops and training sessions our wonderful regional staff have delivered this year - 212 youth professional/ teacher training workshops on all aspects of alcohol, cannabis and drink spiking for example - plus 220 other engagements such as parent talks, lessons and workshops for young people, conferences and meetings UK-wide.

Ensuring our work works

Attendees are asked to complete an evaluation of talk about alcohol training and results from 220 teachers shows confidence rises from 6/10 before the workshops to 9/10 afterwards concerning knowledge and awareness about alcohol and signposting young people for help.

In addition,68% of participants said they will change their approach to social norms when teaching alcohol following the session and 81% will make sessions more interactive with group discussions and activities following the training. Examples of comments about the workshops are:

• "The resources box and interactive quiz have given me lots of ideas about how to start sessions and make them engaging."

" " Training was excellent and the resources will be very helpful.

"Great informative course with excellent tools ideal to better " engage our young people.

How confident were you in delivering cannabis education to 16 + before the session?

How confident were you in delivering cannabis education to 16 + after the session

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From 488 responses from those receiving alcohol and cannabis training for older teenagers, the AET training and resources were rated at 9/10 overall. Confidence in delivering alcohol and cannabis education to ages 16+ rose from 5/10 before the session to 8/10 afterwards. 79% of attendees felt confident in supporting young people in where to go for help around alcohol following the session and 74% around cannabis. Some examples of feedback received are :

• ''Training was brilliant and along with the resource pack will support "

• me when engaging with young people.

• "Excellent training, great resources and relevant to my work."

• "I realised how little I knew so it was interesting to hear about norms for usage and facts."

Some examples of feedback received are:

• ''The whole programme was really interesting and engaging."

• "

• "Informative, educational and interactive.

When downloading our resources, we ask people to tell us how they heard about us and how and when they teach alcohol education and RHSE. 91% of those who download our resources are currently teaching alcohol education and 78% have timetabled RSHE sessions (which is great news).

For the second year, we have been supporting universities, colleges and settings working with ages 16+ with a variety of anti-drink spiking resources including posters, awareness cards, key-rings and drinks tests. These have again been hugely appreciated by those receiving them and many recipients from last year have come back for more this time! We had to reprint twice to keep up with demand and also made the posters available to print locally with setting specific helplines. I am looking forward to seeing what 2024 has in store for us and know it will be another busy year as we continue our important work helping to keep young people safe around alcohol and other substances UK-wide!

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Regional reports from our specialist trainers

Our small band of regionally based staff, Kathryn (The North), Karen (Midlands and The South), Soraya (London and the South-East) and Shona (Scotland) provide alcohol and substance awareness for young people, training for teachers and youth professionals and workshops for parents and carers nationally. This year we trained over 1,300 teachers and professionals working with young people of all abilities and backgrounds. Teachers and health professionals are given an insight into activities and approaches that inspire young people to learn through enjoyment - by providing evidenced but fun activities, 'bottom up' materials that build resilience, self-esteem, encourage working in groups, role play and 'rehearsal strategies'.

The AET takes a positive engaging approach that does not attempt to induce shock or stigma, but focuses on what young people can do to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy, make a positive contribution and achieve physical and mental wellbeing. By engaging younger people BEFORE they begin drinking or experimenting with substances in an unsupervised environment,

we ensure that children and young people think about the consequences of short-term decisions. Our programmes develop the skills and knowledge needed to make informed choices about when, if and how much to drink as they reach the legal drinking age and the short and long term consequences of substance use. Following training, those trained are fully supported online via alcoholeducationtrust.org with a fun learning zone for teenagers talkaboutalcohol.com, with regular updates and newsletters. 6th formers

and students are supported with a comprehensive wellbeing hub lifestuff.org

Having regionally based staff also ensures that the AET reaches more young people in different settings and can effectively target the geographical areas where alcohol-related harms for under 25s are highest. Our regional staff help train young health champions, students studying health and social care as part of their outreaches to ensure peer mentors are engaging and knowledgeable. Using data from the indices of deprivation as well as Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) hospital admissions for U18s in England, we focus our resource on young people in areas that need our support most including East Tyneside, Birmingham, Lancashire, Leeds Liverpool and Manchester, Cornwall, The Isle of Wight, Kent and Dorset, as well as all areas of Scotland where alcohol and drug related deaths are nearly twice those in England.

Parents and carers are also supported locally by our specialist coordinators around 'tough love' parenting skills, setting boundaries, the law and how to keep their children safe around alcohol. Research shows that unless parents/carers are good role models, set boundaries and know where their children are and who they are with, any efforts by schools/other organisations to reduce risk taking, including underage drinking are limited. Parents/carers are also the key suppliers of alcohol to those under the age of 18. The AET coordinators engage parents and carers via school and the community. We also have a dedicated web area for parents, which enjoyed over 50,000 page views in 2022/23.

Our regionally based staff work to support our three key pillars of:

Supporting and engaging children and young adults

Supporting and training teachers and health professionals

Empowering parents and carers and to protect young people

This helps fulfil our goals of

• Raise the age of onset of drinking whole drinks from the current age of 13 to at least the UK Chief Medical Officers' Guidance of age 15 with a longterm goal of the legal purchase age of 18.

• Reduce the prevalence and social acceptability of binge drinking and drunkenness, vaping, cannabis and other substance use among young people.

• o Raise awareness of the lifetime risk of early alcohol and other substance use.

• Ensure the life chances of young people most vulnerable to alcohol and drug harm and abuse are improved.

• Reduce the accidents, violence, assault and harm caused to young people and the community by alcohol and drug use.

• Encourage diversionary activities for young people that reduce anti-social behaviour crime and onset of drinking and drug use.

The following reports provide a short snapshot of some of our work in the regions.

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Kathryn Arnott -Gent, Northern Manager

East Riding

Another fantastic year - so busy with further new partnerships formed. My work this year has been so varied with sessions delivered for teaching staff at schools, the youth service, children and young people's services, supported

accommodation staff, residential social workers, special children's guardians, the police and community groups - to name just a few! I have delivered more face-to-face sessions with some amazing year 12's and 13's from Ripon Grammar School, Askam Bryan College, the Princes Trust Harrogate and a National Virtual webinar for Apprenticeship Connect.

• "

• "It was the best external CPD we have had in a long time . Moorbridge PRU, North Tyneside.

Thanks to funding received from the National Lottery Community Fund, I have been delighted to continue to support schools and Youth Organisations across East Riding. Over 100 teachers have been trained from Rise Academy, Compass Academy, Sirius

Academy, Aspire Academy, Beverley Grammar School, Hull Training and Venn Academy with some fantastic feedback.

"Kathryn was very knowledgeable and engaging. I really enjoyed the session and found the resources to be of high quality and something I will definitely be incorporating into my delivery of the topic"

• " I genuinely thought about new techniques and ways in which I could use them in my teaching".

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Compass Academy Hull
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Some fabulous sessions with Youth workers from Astra Youth, who work with young people across Hull - as well as brilliant multi agency session over in Bridlington where we had representatives from schools, colleges, police, early help, and fire cadets.

Thanks to East Riding Voluntary Action Services for hosting and publicising this event - I'm looking forward to returning to deliver our 16+ Alcohol & Cannabis session for agencies in Bridlington and Scunthorpe in the coming months.

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North Yorkshire

A fantastic Talk About Alcohol session for Outwood Academy, such an enthusiastic group of teachers who could not wait to put into practice what they had learnt!

" Just wanted to say thank you for Tuesday - I loved it and the training was really well received by our staff. I'm excited to start replanning the curriculum provision to include all your ideas". Huge thanks to North Yorkshire Police Fire & Crime Commissioner for funding our 16+ project, this has enabled us to support colleges and staff working with 16+ as well as delivering direct sessions to students. It's been a fabulous start to the project with sessions for the YMCA, North Yorkshire Youth, a multi-agency session hosted by Harrogate Community Hub as well as some fabulous direct student sessions at Ripon Grammar, the Princes Trust and Askham Bryan. I also had the pleasure of being part of the Stay Safe in the Water event in Ripon - so great to see so many

young people there taking part in all the activities including our pouring units and goodie bags with staying safe and spiking information. Delighted to attend Askham Bryan's Freshers Fair recently where I engaged with around 200 students - talking about spiking, units and staying safe, a brilliant day.

"I will share this information with teachers /tutors in school for PSHE and form sessions and will use this in my 1 -1 work with students." King James School Knaresborough

16+

I have been delighted to develop partnership's with lnicio Group, Bedspace and A Wilderness Way this year. These organisations do such important work supporting young people move towards independent living, those children and young people who are vulnerable and are in crisis, providing personalised, holistic care programmes.

It's been a pleasure to deliver our Alcohol & Cannabis sessions to staff, with repeat virtual sessions now being delivered.

I attended The National SalLS Conference (16+ Supported & Independent Living Services), which was attended by around 500 people - a fantastic and inspirational event which introduced me to numerous 16+ agencies all supporting vulnerable young people - I have been happy to support these agencies with our resources and training this year.

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"Great informative course with excellent tools ideal to better engage our young people."

Parkwood Care Home Manchester

"Great insight into new trends, the training was informative and interaction with colleagues was really good in the training………. It was a relaxed atmosphere and interactive with some really useful tools".

Bedspace

''This training was so engaging and I learnt so much. Kathryn was so engaging. It was so useful!"

Inicio Group

Community Groups and Youth Support

It's a privilege to support some of the 1000's of Community Youth Support groups in the North of England. They do such important work with some of our most vulnerable young people and our Activity packs and 16+ resources are a perfect fit with our interactive games and discussion led activities.

Warrington Youth Service, Bolton Lads & Girls Club, Manchester City in the Community, Street League & Football Beyond Borders plus several multi agency sessions are just a few examples of the training I have delivered - each organisation has received a full resource pack with thanks to the amazing funders we have.

"I will make sessions more interactive with group discussion and activities. I found this training and resources really useful."

Warrington Borough Council

"I will now encourage more discussions around alcohol and drug use so that they can make informed decisions, Kathryn was very friendly and knowledgeable, I really enjoyed the session".

Street League

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Karen Perryman, Midlands, South and West Manager

Another busy and exciting year. From training teachers, youth professionals, parents and carers to working with older teenagers and young adults , my work with AET is so varied and interesting. Here are some of the highlights from across the South West and Midlands.

Teacher Training

With our proven to work six ready-made lesson plans, teacher training is at the heart of what we do. Talk About Alcohol training has taken place in numerous locations including across Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Wolverhampton and Staffordshire.

"Well presented and informative - thank you!" Cranbrook High, Devon

"The workshop was interactive and presented a clear pathway to present ideas on alcohol beyond 'it is bad for you'. I will be using the resources as a way of helping students identify potential issues with the people in their spheres rather than fall into the trap of targeting alcohol warnings at them personally."

Co-Op Academy, Stoke-on-Trent

"The classification of binge drinking was very interesting and eye opening. The going through the effects and side effects was good and will be beneficial to students. Bar measurements was useful in showing how small they are compared to home pours." Magna Academy, Poole

Virtual teacher training and supply of physical resources has worked very well too.

"Well presented and loved the resource book and usb stick." Aldersley High School, Wolverhampton

"The points made about strategies for dealing with binge drinking/alcohol consumption etc. were important to highlight as we do not often talk about what we should do if we find ourselves in that vulnerable situation." John Taylor High, Staffordshire

I loved hosting workshops for the newly qualified teachers (PGCE) at the Southampton University Health and Wellbeing Conference in partnership with NHS Public Health England. These workshops equip teachers with the skills to teach Health Education in their new roles. "Fantastic Workshop." Southampton Health Conference Attendee

Training Staff in Youth Support Roles A very important part of our work is training those who work in youth support roles to help them empower young people to make safer choices. AET's train the trainer model and resources mean that we provide a legacy for future generations. Working in partnership with a wealth of councils and organisations, I have been able to offer this to a large number of individuals. Examples of these partnerships include Devon Council where training sessions were available for all children's services staff and Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning. These two partnerships account for over eighty organisations/individuals supported this year. Active Youth Outreach

"I felt that it gave me more information about alcohol and statistics and facts, which is helpful." Active Youth Outreach, Midlands

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Training and Informing Health Professionals

"In my role, I create resources about various issues related to offending behaviour. I will definitely signpost schools to these

resources and use these in some of our sessions."

Norfolk Police, Children and Young People Team

"Informative training with good facts backed up with figures. Signposted to resources and good ideas for interactive activities in the lessons. Well worth the time to get a great foundation to deliver Alcohol awareness to young people."

Sheringham Police

"I really enjoyed the session and the resources to support the session were very good."

Mind, Brain, Body CiC, Dorset

• "I now have a better understanding of how to discuss the subject of alcohol with young people."

Dorset Council Children's Services Employee

"Karen was a wonderful teacher and kept us engaged throughout the training, asking us questions to gauge our knowledge and answering any we presented her with.

Overall, an enjoyable and educational experience!"

Dorset Youth Association

• "I found the statistics really interesting and Karen put them into perspective for us."

The Drop In, Island Community Action

Karen delivered the session excellently. A credit to your work." Mansfield Community Safety

"Karen was very informative and I thought the unit measuring exercise was really beneficial to my learning and hopefully others."

RNLI Mental Health

• "Really Interesting listening and reading. Very young people focused. A restorative way of working."

Devon County Council Initial Response Team ''This was a brilliant session."

Home Start West Dorset

Working in collaboration with Wessex Local Medical Committees, I recorded my first ever Podcasts - one on alcohol, the other cannabis. These - in addition to the 'Young People's Choices Around Alcohol' training - are available for GPs and anyone working within medical practices i.e.,

nurses, social practitioners, etc. across the counties of Dorset, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire, BaNES and Swindon.

School Nurses have also received training through Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning. "Some great resources to use in Health practice thank you." School Nurse, Gloucestershire

16+ Toolkit for Vulnerable Young Adults

Training and supply of our 16+ Alcohol and Cannabis Toolkit continues apace aiming to reduce negative risk taking and increase the resilience of vulnerable young people.

"Karen was an excellent trainer. She made the topic feel approachable. I now feel much more confident in delivering drugs interventions in the future." Somerset Family Team

"I have received my pack and am thrilled with it - it is such a good resources. Most useful part of the training: Talking through how to use the resource box, as well as the interactive quiz - this has given me lots of ideas about how to start [alcohol] sessions and make them engaging."

Safer Somerset partnership

"Great training. Thanks, myself and the team feel this training was incredibly useful in helping young people make better decisions." Bungalow Project, Devon

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Special Educational Needs (SEN) Students

Having worked in partnership with SEN specialists, AET's resources ensure that our messages can be communicated with young people of all abilities. I especially enjoy this area of my work and have the opportunity to work with amazing special schools and organisations.

"Excellent course really enjoyed it and very informative...Very sensitive delivery of training material that made an impact."

lford Academy, Dorset

Supporting Older Students and Vulnerable Young Adults

Through interactive workshops and assemblies, I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of older teenagers across the whole of the South West and Midlands. Communicating social norms messages and harm reduction/ resilience strategies both face to face and virtually, the participation and enthusiasm of students demonstrates the positive impact we have on young people helping to reduce negative risk taking.

"I really liked the format using the letters from the word ALCOHOL and the pace of the session allowed discussion and clarity The students felt the material was appropriate and that tutors were able to support them and become involved. All of the tutors were given a copy of the ppt & video links to follow up the session." South Moulton School & Science College, Northampton I had the privilege of working with young people at Whitehead Ross, an education and social welfare organization for 16 - 25 year olds. In their tutor's own words. "They were all fully engaged which is fabulous."

Parents and Carers

Working with councils, children's services providers, foster agencies and individuals, it's been great to run sessions for parents and carers.

"Very useful and I can see how this training will be useful in supporting young people." "Amazing training, very informative."

Pete's Dragons, Devon

• ''Thank you for the training. The team found it really useful and are educating those of us who were unable to attend."

Parental Minds, National

"I feel confident in my new knowledge and the resources supplied during the session to talk to young people about alcohol and get them thinking about the choices they make."

Foster Carer

• "I will be able to talk to young people in my care with more confidence and knowledge."

Foster Carer

Conferences and Networking

Attending conferences is a fun part of my work and a brilliant way to network, form new partnerships and spread the word of the valuable work we do. This year I had the pleasure of attending amongst others Dorset O - 25 VCS Forum, the Personal Development Conference, Birmingham and Dorset Strategic Alliance Conference as well as our own amazing national and drug education conference in Newcastle of course! In summary, a very busy year forming new partnerships whilst all the while offering support to existing schools, organizations and partners. None of this work would be possible without the generous funding we receive. Thank you.

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It was a pleasure to support St John's Ambulance volunteers and young members of the MCPT (Military Preparation Academies) - a college to encourage young people who may have fallen between the gaps to gain the qualifications to be able to join the British Military. We are in the process of arranging dates for Croydon and Aldershot, with plans to visit each new cohort as they arrive

Soraya Williams, London & South-East Manager

I am thrilled to reflect upon a fantastic 6 months and

I clearly see how joining Alcohol Education Trust as an ex-Police Officer aligns with my own values and goals centred around enhancing the prospects of young individuals by providing guidance and supporting them to avoid violence, crime, and harm committed by young people or against them when under the

I was pleased to train and support all youth leaders with activity packs at the fantastic Future Youth Zone - Dagenham for young people in Becontree. We delivered three workshops each on the topics of alcohol and cannabis to 60 youth workers and support staff. The staff were very engaged and are now equipped to support young people day to day. Collaboration with CGL (Change, Grow Live) in Newham has been a rewarding experience with 2 sessions, one on alcohol and the other on Cannabis. The AET's relevance and impact have been wellreceived with CGL and we plan to work closely in Newham, hoping to improve the health and welfare of the young people, some of whom live in one of the most deprived neighbourhoods of the UK. The AET are annual presenters to PSHE leads in East Sussex each year, and it was great to present three workshops on Cannabis at the East Sussex PSHE conference this year.

influence of alcohol or drugs. Helena and everyone at AET have been very welcoming and supportive. The AET programmes are a privilege to present, and I am pleased to share the highlights of our recent endeavours in London & the South-East.

With the help of training and Karen Perryman co-hosting early workshops, I soon felt confident in demonstrating the AET three key programmes, as well as games and activities.

I have had the opportunity to facilitate a series of workshops tailored to a diverse range of audiences, from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Health PSHE teachers with the help of Joanne Howling from 'Healthy You' organisation , wheelchair-bound and sociable 6th formers at Treloar College, part of preparing them for independent living, PSHE teachers from across East Sussex, and back in London, to 'Change Grow Live' Newham alcohol and drugs support workers. The positive feedback of AET's programme has been evident across various contexts.

Another highlight has Train the Trainer' sessions and workshops with Sister System, a charity that supports girls in care, at risk of care, and care leavers up to the age of 25 years. Many of these women have been impacted by the consequences of alcohol and drug misuse. The goal of empowering these individuals to break the cycle and succeed is particularly heartening.

One of the significant achievements has been reconnecting with colleagues from the Metropolitan Police and the Met Youth Engagement Policy Unit, leading to collaboration with local borough Youth Engagement Teams, resulting in training sessions covering five different boroughs - Wandsworth, Redbridge , Dagenham, Barkingside and Hillingdon. A total of 95 police officers and 83 cadets have been trained. Our version of Conscience Alley was particularly well received. The positive response has sparked plans for additional Train the Trainers' sessions and cadet workshops in the new academic year.

It is a pleasure to work closely with the Southampton PSHE Network meeting which invited all PSHE teachers in the Southampton area. We also provided workshops at the PGCE Health and Wellbeing conference at the University of Southampton, another regular calendar fixture,

As I reflect on the past six months, my enthusiasm for our charities' early intervention and harm reduction work in empowering young people with the skills and

knowledge to make safer choices around alcohol and drugs continues to grow. I look forward to further contributing to the positive influence AET brings to the lives of young people and the adults around them.

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Shona Johnston, Scotland Manager

Alcohol and drug harms continue to be one of Scotland's most pressing issues with an increase from 1,245 alcohol-specific deaths in 2021 to 1,276 in 2022 (NRS 2023) and people living in the most deprived areas of Scotland are six times more likely to be admitted for an alcohol-related condition than

the least deprived. In addition, half of patients with a drug-related hospital stay lived in the most deprived areas and drug-related deaths (DRDs) have increased annually across Scotland since 2014 making our work with partner charities in supporting the most deprived, marginalised and isolated young adults into work and improving their life chances absolutely essential. The need for our cannabis education and training to protect and enable young adults understand the risk of use is emphasised by Public Health Scotland figures (2023) showing that cannabinoids are responsible for a third (29%) of new psychiatric admissions - in the Western Isles, it is responsible for one in every two, 40% in Mid & East Lothian (49%), Fife (42%) and East Renfrewshire (40%).

Accurate data on recent alcohol and drug use by young people in Scotland is hard to obtain since the last SALSUS survey results of 2019, which found that 12% of 15 year olds reported using drugs in the last month. Our most recent worries include vaping, especially illicit vapes that are high in nicotine and have been found to contain up to 200 chemicals such as THC, spice and nickel. 50% Of 17 year olds have vaped according to ASH, also on our radar is poly substance use, such as combining Buckfast with cocaine and the rise of 'street benzos'. So, our work in Scotland ensuring that young adults life chances are not derailed by excess alcohol or substance misuse is key as is our ability to respond as the issues that challenge them change day to day. We are thrilled with our progress and achievements this year in Scotland thanks to the Inspiring Scotland Youth Action Fund. Highlights include delivering training in new areas such as The Western Isles and Scottish borders.

We have enjoyed some fantastic collaborative working with the Inspiring Scotland Youth Action Fund partner charities this year, with us continuing to work closely with youth engagement staff at Aberdeen Foyer, Street League, Enable, FARE and Action for Children. We continue to build staff knowledge and confidence enabling them to be able to support young adults around alcohol and other substances day to day.

Our train the trainer's alcohol and cannabis workshops have been held for staff working in settings including Motherwell, Easterhouse, the Isle of Lewis, Livingston, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Govan, North Uist and Paisley this year.

Some of the feedback from 16+ training evaluations has included:

"Shona is super so friendly and really engaging." "Shona is an excellent presenter and kept all of us interested for the whole session. She was enthusiastic, which transferred to those of us being trained and was clear and concise. I feel that Shona is on hand if we need any further advice."

"Love that we get a pack and this will be so useful in the groups I work with. Shona was so knowledgeable and experienced and helped me understand without any issues." "Shona delivered the training excellently by making it engaging and enjoyable."

Organisations and Youth Professionals

We have been privileged to have worked alongside and train staff from other super and proactive organisations and charities that support young people every day in engaging ways.

In fact, I have trained over 320 staff throughout Scotland in 2023. Other youth charities supported include The Rock Trust, Street Assist, East Lothian Works, Kibble Education and care (Paisley), Dean and Cauvin Young People's Trust, Drylaw young people's centre, YIP works (Cumnock), Care Visions (Fife), Room 4 U Fostering, Glasgow Girl's Football FC, Tullochan and East Lothian Council.

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We always feel so lucky to meet new organisations and learn about their fascinating work and volunteering.

Partnership working

We have been lucky to have some great partnership working opportunities too, such as working with FARE and Glasgow Girls Football Club Charity to deliver several alcohol and football activities within schools using our fabulous and engaging resources. Another collaborative working partnership has been with Youth Scotland and we were very pleased to deliver an input at their Health and Wellbeing training day in Glasgow for youth workers across Scotland, with more planned for 2024.

Young people's vulnerabilities for alcohol and other substance related harms

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We will work to continue to achieve our goals by focusing on the following core objectives:

SUPPORT CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

• Continue to ensure that all young people (aged 11-18) have free access to the Talk About Alcohol programme, its websites, games, films and activities across the UK.

• Support vulnerable young people at higher risk of alcohol and drug related harms with targeted approaches in all settings

• Ensure harm minimisation resources for young people to age 25 are freely available on alcohol, cannabis and vaping. Provide workshops, peer to peer training and opportunities for young adults.

SUPPORT SCHOOLS AND ORGANISATIONS

• Train teachers, health educators (RSHE), youth professionals and community leaders new to the AET programmes face to face and on line on all issues regarding alcohol, cannabis, vaping and other substances

• Support the provision of the Talk About Alcohol programme and other substance resources, websites, films, games, lesson plans and worksheets and SEN specific activities free

• of charge to schools and youth supporting organisations.

• Provide ongoing guidance, training, updates, signposting and new resources to settings currently provided with AET programmes through our regionally based specialist staff throughout England and Scotland.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

EMPOWER PARENTS AND CARERS

• Equip parents and carers, face-to-face and online, with the necessary skills to keep their children safe around alcohol and other substances.

• Ensure all our training and resources are evaluated for their impact and produce regular reports on the outcomes of our work.

• Seek evaluation by academic specialists of our key programmes and to only deliver evidenced approaches that prevent or reduce alcohol related harm.

Section 1

Page | 28

Treasurer's report and financial review

Gross expenditure from general funds during the year amounted to £184,169 with the majority funding our central staff and school and regional co-ordinators (plus their associated travel costs) of £126,886, office expenses and associated ground rent for the Pavilion £18,142, printing and postage of resources of £6,496, IT & Software £1,496, accountancy & other professional fees £12,786, other costs £10,160 and depreciation of £8,203. This was offset by the cost recovery of £27,030 for resources and £45,655 for staff costs, both relating to the delivery of fully funded training & resources as part of our project work.

The Alcohol Education Trust has continued to expand its 16+ work on alcohol & cannabis with young adults this year in England, Scotland and a specific project in North Yorkshire and we continue to provide our Talk About Alcohol Programme across England & Scotland. We have extended our work to include vaping, nicotine & pouches and have recently started an exciting piece of work in Dorset (in partnership with Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner) to create and pilot drug education lessons and materials for schools and youth settings across Dorset. Behind the scenes, a lot of work has been taking place to develop our new branding and website which will be launched in 2024. Locally, we continue to run a variety of community activities and diversionary activities for young people from the Pavilion in the Park in Poundbury. Income for the year amounted to £342,998 (up £20k) and expenditure amounted to £276,453 (up £50k with £13k of that related to the branding project). Incoming restricted funds during the year amounted to £179,867. Expenditure from restricted funds during the year amounted to £164,819. This was principally expended on:

• an exciting new project in Dorset to develop a new suite of training and resources to provide education to young people around drugs

• o the expansion of our 16+ work in England, Scotland and a specific 16+ project in North Yorkshire

• o the continued delivery of training and resources by our regional co-ordinators for Scotland, the Midlands, South & West regions and London & South East region

• some targeted work in Humber

• our continued work with schools and organisations with a high degree of special education needs and looked- after children

• the continuation of our university campaign during freshers week which we will deliver as part of our core 16+ work going forward

• a wide selection of community events at the Pavilion, working with local organisations and schools with a range of activities.

Incoming general funds amounted to £163,131. This included an impressive £81k from PiP Cafe comprising a donation from their 2022 profits of £53,105, rental of £8,000 plus a contribution of £7,454 towards the shared costs of the Pavilion and £12,445 for shared staff costs.

________________ Section 1

Page | 29

Income from resources through commissioning and purchases by organisations (schools, youth and sports clubs are supported free of charge), generated £3,424 and a further £9,311 ticket sales from our conference. We generated an impressive £5,853 from the hire of the community room and £411 commission on arts and crafts sold in the cafe for local young artists. This brought our total sales figure to £18,999. Our partnership with Dorchester Town Council remains strong and their annual contribution towards the provision of public toilets at the Pavilion increased to just over £5k to include a share of the water rates and toilet repairs/maintenance.

Despite challenging economic conditions our SJP Investment partially recovered in 2023 providing an unrealised gain of £4,370 for the year. As at the 30th September 2023, we closed the designated PiPs Hut fund as the outdoor trailer is now fully operational and released the residual £2,850 to general funds. We placed a further £10k in the CEO Succession Reserve bringing the balance to £60k, recognising that the true market cost of replacing the current CEO would be significantly higher than the

PIP Café

The charity runs PiP Cafe via a trading subsidiary called Pavilion in the Park (PiPs) Ltd. Cafe trading continued to exceed expectations by some margin this year with turnover for the year being £249k which was

£36k ahead of budget. Our gross profit was £176k and expenditure amounted to £122k resulting in an operating profit of £53k which was in line with last year's profit.

We are expecting 2023-24 to be a little more challenging and our budget for 2024 provides a lower profit level of £40k reflecting a small increase in our level of sales against a backdrop of rising staff costs and supplier costs, some of which we will be unable to pass on to customers. We remain very reliant on the weather and depend upon the flexibility of our amazing workforce as the cafe manager constantly reviews staffing levels to balance the variations in trade from day to day.

PiP Cafe is consistently making a significant contribution to the charity. In addition to the taxable profits which are donated to the charity, there is also an annual rental of £8k and a contribution towards the shared Pavilion costs and shared staff costs.

existing CEO remuneration. We added £ 7,326 to our Pavilion Maintenance Fund in line with depreciation for future repairs/replacement of the Pavilion Building. After placing these designated funds aside and adjusting for Stock, Fixed Assets & our investment in Pip Cafe, our balance of 'Free Reserves' at the year- end was £194,843 providing 13 months cover for our gross operating costs of £184,169 which is in line with our reserves policy.

Our expenditure increased by 22% this year to £276k, reflecting the underlying growth of the charity as we expand our remit to cover other substances in addition to alcohol (e.g. vaping and drug education) and a wider age range up to age 25 - it also includes some one-off spend associated with our branding work.

Our budgeted costs for next year are £318k with our focus for 2023 being the development and evaluation of our new suite of resources for drug education and the relaunch of our brand and social media presence to make sure it fully reflects our new areas of work, whilst continuing to build on our 16+ work, our regional work and our outreach to universities.

For 2022-23, the contribution received by AET was an impressive £81k in total being £53k donation from 2021-22 profits, £8k rental, £7k shared staff costs and

£12k shared pavilion costs. We expect the contribution to remain at a similar level next year and then it is likely to fall slightly reflecting our anticipated lower profit level in 2024 but it still represents an invaluable income stream for our work with young people across the UK and provides an incredible return on the original investment.

Section 1

Page | 30

Impacts and outcomes

Independent evaluation of our impact, fidelity and effectiveness

• The Talk About Alcohol programme is evidenced to significantly raise the age of onset of drinking through the delivery of 4 lessons in Year 8 and 2 top up lessons in Year 9 (NFER 2013).

• This effect gets significantly stronger as teenagers get older (NFER 2015).

• It is equally effective for ethnic minorities (NFER 2013).

• It is effective in areas of multiple deprivation where alcohol-related harms for under 18s are highest in England (2016 UCL Institute of Education).

The Talk About Alcohol programme is selected as best practice by

Early Intervention Foundation

• European Platform for investment in

• Children Promising

NCVO charity ethical principles

The trustees carried out their annual review of the NCVO Charity Ethical Principles which provide a framework for the ethical execution of charitable purpose and help guide decision-making and development of policies and procedures. The trustees report that they are confident that the charity is upholding the Guiding Principles to put Beneficiaries First, act with Integrity and Openness & protect everybody’s Right to be Safe. Education).

Data Maturity

The AET has scored 3.8 out of 5 on data maturity, based on the average across the seven themes.

The AET strictly incorporates the principles of evidenced Health Education which are detailed in the

International Standards on Drug Use Prevention (unodc.org). The standards clearly define the Characteristics of programmes for prevention education based on social competence and influence deemed to be associated with efficacy and/or effectiveness based on expert consultation. Namely:

• they use interactive methods;

• they are delivered through a series of structured sessions (typically 10–15 sessions), taking place once a week, often providing booster sessions over multiple years;

• they are delivered by a trained facilitator (also including trained peers);

• they provide an opportunity to practise and learn a wide array of personal and social skills, in particular, coping, decision-making and resistance skills, especially in relation to substance use;

• they change perceptions of the risks associated with substance use, emphasizing the immediate consequences;

• they dispel misconceptions regarding the normative nature and the expectations linked to substance use.

Approaches are detailed which are associated with lack of efficacy and/or effectiveness or with adverse effects based on expert consultation which we emphatically avoid;

• they use non-interactive methods, such as lecturing, as a primary delivery strategy;

• they rely heavily on merely giving information, in particular to elicit fear;

• they are based on unstructured dialogue sessions; they focus only on the building of self-esteem and emotional education;

• they address only ethical and moral decision-making or values;

• they use former drug users to provide testimony of their personal experience.

The principles below from CEOP are also embraced

icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Key-Principles- ofEffective-Prevention-Education-CEOP-UK.pdf

________________ Section 1 Page | 31

Awards and recognition

A joined-up approach to reduce alcohol and other substances related harms

Section 1

Page | 32

Funding

We are very grateful to our current and past funders and business supporters as well as those who provide support in kind, a range of whom include:

The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on the 26[th] February 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

Keith Newton

---

26/02/2024

Date:

Section 1

Page | 33

SECTION 2 ACCOUNTS

Charity registration number: 1186202

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

Chartered Accountants

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

CONTENTS

Reference and Administrative Details	1
Independent Examiner's Report	2
Statement of Financial Activities	3
Balance Sheet	4
Notes to the Financial Statements	5 to 16

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Trustees	Victoria McDonaugh PGCE, Chair
	David Cox
	Stephen Foster
	Andrew Morse BSc Hons
	Keith Newton ACA
	Dr Lara Jayne Wear MB BS BSc DCH (SA) MRCGP
	Alison Winsborough BMus PGCE
	Jacqueline Sonner BAHons PGCE
	Richard Mangnall
Senior Management /	Helena Conibear, Chief Executive
Leadership Team
Charity Registration Number	1186202
Principal Office	Pavilion in the Park
	St John Way
	Poundbury
	Dorchester
	Dorset
	DT1 2FG
Independent Examiner	S J Hough FCA
	Edwards & Keeping
	Chartered Accountants
	Unity Chambers
	34 High East Street
	Dorchester
	Dorset
	DT1 1HA
Bankers	The Co-operative Bank
	P O Box 250
	Skelmerdale
	WN8 6WT

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Alcohol Education Trust for the year ended 30 September 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of The Alcohol Education Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (the ‘2005 Act’), the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). You are satisfied that your charity is not required by charity law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination.

I report in respect of my examination of the The Alcohol Education Trust's accounts carried out under section 44 (1)(c) of the 2005 Act and section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed the requirements of Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since The Alcohol Education Trust has prepared its accounts on an accruals basis and is also registered in Scotland your examiner must be a member of a body listed in Regulation 11(2) of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of The Alcohol Education Trust as required by section 44 (1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and section 130 of the 2011 Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

S J Hough FCA Edwards & Keeping Chartered Accountants

Unity Chambers 34 High East Street Dorchester Dorset DT1 1HA

5 March 2024

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

Note Income and Endowments from: Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Other trading activities 4 Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Gain/(loss) on investment assets 11 Net income Gross transfers between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward 17	Unrestricted £ 114,687 39,709 8,735 163,131 - (111,634) (111,634) 4,370 55,867 11 55,878 567,916 623,794	Restricted £ 178,757 1,110 - 179,867 - (164,819) (164,819) - 15,048 (11) 15,037 150,054 165,091	Total 2023 £ 293,444 40,819 8,735 342,998 - (276,453) (276,453) 4,370 70,915 - 70,915 717,970 788,885	Total 2022 £ 290,546 26,379 6,276
				323,201
				(184) (226,102)
				(226,286)
				(7,796)
				89,119
				-
				89,119 628,851
				717,970

All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for 2022 is shown in note 17.

• 3 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

(CHARITY COMMISSION REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1186202) (OSCR REGISTRATION NUMBER SC050360) BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

Note Fixed assets Tangible assets 10 Investments 11 Current assets Stocks 12 Debtors 13 Cash at bank and in hand 14 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 15 Net current assets Net assets Funds of the charity: Restricted income funds Restricted funds 17 Unrestricted income funds Unrestricted funds Total funds 17	2023 £ 278,227 107,169 385,396 10,398 23,002 401,037 434,437 (30,948) 403,489 788,885 165,091 623,794 788,885	2022 £ 284,230 102,799
		387,029
		18,242 11,447 374,717
		404,406 (73,465)
		330,941
		717,970
		150,054 567,916
		717,970

The financial statements on pages 3 to 16 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 26 February 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Keith Newton ACA Trustee

• 4 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

1 Accounting policies

Statement of compliance

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the second edition of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

Basis of preparation

The Alcohol Education Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. The accounts (financial statements) have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement

The charity opted to early adopt Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016 and have therefore not included a cash flow statement in these financial statements.

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Income and endowments

Voluntary income including donations, gifts, legacies and grants that provide core funding or are of a general nature is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Donations and legacies

Donations and legacies are recognised on a receivable basis when receipt is probable and the amount can be reliably measured.

Grants receivable

Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released.

Deferred income

Deferred income represents amounts received for future periods and is released to incoming resources in the period for which, it has been received. Such income is only deferred when:

• The donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods; or - The donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the charity has unconditional entitlement.

• 5 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

Expenditure

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs.

Charitable activities

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Support costs

Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor areas, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.

Government grants

Government grants are recognised based on the accrual model and are measured at the fair value of the asset received or receivable. Grants are classified as relating either to revenue or to assets. Grants relating to revenue are recognised in income over the period in which the related costs are recognised. Grants relating to assets are recognised over the expected useful life of the asset. Where part of a grant relating to an asset is deferred, it is recognised as deferred income.

Taxation

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are initially recorded at cost, less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses. However, the Trustees may consider capitalising lower cost items where appropriate,

Depreciation and amortisation

Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follows:

Asset class	Depreciation method and rate
Leasehold Buildings	Over the minimum period of the lease straight line
Fixtures and Fittings	20% reducing balance

• 6 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments, other than programme related investments, are included at market value at the balance sheet date. Realised gains and losses on investments are calculated as the difference between sales proceeds and their market value at the start of the year, or their subsequent cost, and are charged or credited to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period of disposal.

Unrealised gains and losses represent the movement in market values during the year and are credited or charged to the Statement of Financial Activities based on the market value at the year end.

Unlisted investments, including the investment in the subsidiary are measured at cost less provision for impairment as the fair value cannot be measured reliably.

Stock

Stock is valued at the lower of cost and estimated selling price.

Trade debtors

Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business.

Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of trade debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

Trade creditors

are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if the does not have an unconditional right, at the end of the reporting period, to defer settlement of the creditor for at least twelve months after the reporting date. If there is an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, they are presented as non-current liabilities.

are recognised initially at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Fund structure

Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees's discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside for specific purposes at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted income funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.

• 7 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

2 Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted

Donations and grants; Grants and charitable donations Donation from subsidary of 2021/22 profits Other donations Government grants	General £ 47,166 53,105 11,034 3,382 114,687	Restricted £ 103,257 - 40,500 35,000 178,757	Total 2023 £ 150,423 53,105 51,534 38,382 293,444	Total 2022 £ 219,849 14,134 53,563 3,000
				290,546

Included in general grants for 2022-23 is £1,200 from the Dorset Council Holiday & Activities Food Program to support the provision of Summer Holiday Kids Clubs.

3 Income from charitable activities

Unrestricted

		Unrestricted
				Total	Total
		General	Restricted	2023	2022
		£	£	£	£
Miscellaneous	sales and hire
income		39,709	1,110	40,819	26,379

4 Income from other trading activities

Community fundraising Property rental income (PIP Cafe)	Unrestricted funds General £ 735 8,000 8,735	Total 2023 £ 735 8,000 8,735	Total 2022 £ 276 6,000
			6,276

• 8 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

5 Expenditure on charitable activities

Unrestricted

Note Staff costs 7 Pavilion ground rent Office expenses Computer software and maintenance Printing, postage and stationery Travel and subsistence Advertising Legal and professional fees Sundry expenses Resource allocation Pavilion Event cost Independent Examiner’s remuneration 8 Depreciation	General £ Designated £ 121,970 - 3,900 - 14,242 - 1,496 - 6,496 - 4,916 - 1,326 - 10,806 - 8,834 150 (72,685) - - - 1,980 - 8,203 - 111,484 150	Restricted £ 57,874 - 277 1,294 19,154 6,851 - (450) 2,973 72,685 4,161 - - 164,819	Total 2023 £ 179,844 3,900 14,519 2,790 25,650 11,767 1,326 10,356 11,957 - 4,161 1,980 8,203 276,453	Total 2022 £ 154,352 1,500 9,058 6,580 20,577 10,021 559 7,816 3,239 - 2,727 1,800 7,873
				226,102

The Resource allocation total of £72,685 consists £45,655 staff costs and £27,030 other costs. Included in expenditure on charitable activities are governance costs of £25,988 (2022 £23,834).

6 Trustees remuneration and expenses

During the year the charity made the following transactions with trustees:

David Cox

£470 (2022: £428) of expenses were reimbursed to David Cox during the year.

The expenses were reimbursement of travel expenses incurred.

No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charity during the year.

No trustees have received any other benefits from the charity during the year.

• 9 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

7 Staff costs

The aggregate costs were as follows:

Staff costs during the year were: Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension costs Self-employed contractors	2023 £ 139,862 6,421 2,953 149,236 30,608 179,844	2022 £ 116,491 4,431 2,194
		123,116 31,236
		154,352

The monthly average number of persons (including senior management / leadership team) employed by the charity during the year (head count) was as follows:

All persons employed	2023 No 7	2022 No 6

No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year

8 Independent examiner's remuneration

8 Independent examiner's remuneration
Other fees to examiners Examination-related assurance services All other services	2023 £ 1,188 792 1,980	2022 £ 1,080 720
		1,800

9 Taxation

The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from taxation.

• 10 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

10 Tangible fixed assets

Cost At 1 October 2022 Additions At 30 September 2023 Depreciation At 1 October 2022 Charge for the year At 30 September 2023 Net book value At 30 September 2023 At 30 September 2022	Land and buildings £ 293,031 - 293,031 10,989 7,325 18,314 274,717 282,042	Furniture and equipment £ 4,102 2,200 6,302 1,914 878 2,792 3,510 2,188	Total £ 297,133 2,200
			299,333
			12,903 8,203
			21,106
			278,227
			284,230

Included within the net book value of land and buildings above is £Nil (2022 - £Nil) in respect of freehold land and buildings and £274,716 (2022 - £282,042) in respect of leaseholds.

11 Fixed asset investments

11 Fixed asset investments
Shares in group undertakings and participating interests Other investments	2023 £ 25,000 82,169 107,169	2022 £ 25,000 77,799
		102,799

Shares in group undertakings and participating interests

Cost At 1 October 2022 At 30 September 2023 Net book value At 30 September 2023 At 30 September 2022	Subsidiary undertakings £ 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000	Total £ 25,000
		25,000
		25,000
		25,000

• 11 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

Other investments

Cost or Valuation At 1 October 2022 Revaluation At 30 September 2023 Net book value At 30 September 2023 At 30 September 2022	Unit Trust investment £ 77,799 4,370 82,169 82,169 77,799	Total £ 77,799 4,370
		82,169
		82,169
		77,799

Details of undertakings

Details of the investments in which the charity holds 20% or more of the nominal value of any class of share capital are as follows:

	Country of		Proportion of voting	Principal
Undertaking	incorporation	Holding	rights and shares held	activity
			2023 2022
Subsidiary undertakings
The Pavilion in the Park (PIPS) Ltd St John Way, Poundbury, Dorchester, DT1 2FG	England & Wales	Ordinary	100% 100%	Running cafe Pavilion the Park	the at in

Subsidiaries

The profit for the financial period of The Pavilion in the Park (PIPS) Ltd was £53,332 (2022 - £53,677) and the aggregate amount of capital and reserves at the end of the period was £91,897 (2022 - £91,670).

• 12 -

THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

12 Stock

Stocks 13 Debtors Trade debtors Due from group undertakings Other debtors 14 Cash and cash equivalents Cash on hand Cash at bank 15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Trade creditors Other creditors Accruals Deferred income	2023 £ 10,398 2023 £ 541 22,461 - 23,002 2023 £ - 401,037 401,037 2023 £ 15,216 - 2,340 13,392 30,948	2022 £ 18,242
		2022 £ - 10,957 490
		11,447
		2022 £ 593 374,124
		374,717
		2022 £ 21,134 1 6,830 45,500
		73,465

16 Commitments

Lease commitments

The Alcohol Education Trust leases land from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales for a 60 year period from 1 April 2021 with a rent starting from 1 April 2022 at £3,000pa, index linked each year. The total amount contracted for but not provided in the financial statements was £Nil (2022 - £Nil).

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THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

17 Funds

Unrestricted General General funds Designated CEO Succession Reserve Outdoor Kiosk Fund Pavilion Maintenance Fund Total unrestricted Restricted Dorset 16+ Leeds & Kirklees Midland & South West North Yorkshire Scotland SEN/LAC Digital PiPs space 16+ Scotland Humber L&SE Newham University 16+ NYORKS DRUG Total restricted Total funds	Balance at 1 October 2022 £ 466,916 50,000 3,000 48,000 101,000 567,916 5,077 50,101 1,017 14,969 57 20,424 17 549 19,891 12,540 9,117 11,658 4,578 59 - - 150,054 717,970	Incoming resources £ 163,131 - - - - 163,131 10,000 990 - 13,000 - 15,000 21,250 - 10,650 48,351 1,156 15,000 - 12,620 15,850 16,000 179,867 342,998	Resources expended £ (111,484) - (150) - (150) (111,634) (5,516) (14,817) (990) (22,257) (50) (8,158) (13,380) (572) (11,367) (35,718) (7,335) (23,867) (1,711) (9,486) (5,442) (4,153) (164,819) (276,453)	Transfers £ Other recognised gains/(losses) £ (14,465) 4,370 10,000 - (2,850) - 7,326 - 14,476 - 11 4,370 - - 3,193 - (27) - - - (7) - - - - - 23 - - - - - - - 2,867 - (2,867) - (3,193) - - - - - (11) - - 4,370	Balance at 30 September 2023 £ 508,468 60,000 - 55,326
					115,326
					623,794
					9,561 39,467 - 5,712 - 27,266 7,887 - 19,174 25,173 2,938 5,658 - - 10,408 11,847
					165,091
					788,885

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THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

Unrestricted funds General General funds Designated Building Fund CEO Succession Reserve Outdoor Kiosk Fund Pavilion Maintenance Fund Total unrestricted funds Restricted Cumbria & Lancs Dorset 16+ LAAAs Leeds & Kirklees Midland & South West North Yorkshire Scotland SEN/LAC Digital PiPs space 16+ Scotland Humber L&SE Newham University Total restricted funds Total funds	Balance at 1 October 2021 £ 393,282 53,850 50,000 - - 103,850 497,132 - 9,772 48,551 142 1,317 19,555 3,174 23,409 10,496 7,211 8,092 - - - - - 131,719 628,851	Incoming resources £ 160,497 - - - - - 160,497 3,750 - 26,000 - - 14,000 - 15,000 - - 21,850 36,264 10,000 20,000 5,410 10,430 162,704 323,201	Resources expended £ (82,494) - - - - - (82,494) (3,170) (4,695) (24,450) (145) (300) (18,586) (3,117) (17,985) (10,479) (6,662) (10,051) (23,724) (883) (8,342) (832) (10,371) (143,792) (226,286)	Transfers £ Other recognised gains/(losses) £ 3,427 (7,796) (53,850) - - - 3,000 - 48,000 - (2,850) - 577 (7,796) (580) - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (577) - - (7,796)	Balance at 30 September 2022 £ 466,916 - 50,000 3,000 48,000
					101,000
					567,916
					- 5,077 50,101 - 1,017 14,969 57 20,424 17 549 19,891 12,540 9,117 11,658 4,578 59
					150,054
					717,970

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THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION TRUST

NAME CHANGED TO THE TALK ABOUT TRUST (ON 30 JANUARY 2024) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

Designated funds:

Outdoor Kiosk Fund - £3,000 was put aside in 2022 to purchase and fit out a trailer for use as an outdoor sales kiosk. This was completed in 2023 and the residual funds were released to general funds as at 30th September 2023.

CEO Succession Fund - £60,000 is held in a designated fund to recognise that the true cost of replacing the current CEO would be significantly higher than the existing CEO remuneration.

Pavilion Maintenance Fund - £55,326 is held in a designated fund for future Pavilion maintenance costs.

18 Analysis of net assets between funds

Tangible fixed assets Fixed asset investments Current assets Current liabilities Total net assets Tangible fixed assets Fixed asset investments Current assets Current liabilities Total net assets	Unrestricted funds General £ Designated £ 278,227 - 107,169 - 139,039 115,326 (15,967) - 508,468 115,326 Unrestricted funds General £ Designated £ 284,230 - 102,799 - 95,611 101,000 (15,724) - 466,916 101,000	Restricted funds £ - - 180,073 (14,982) 165,091 Restricted funds £ - - 207,795 (57,741) 150,054	Total funds at 30 September 2023 £ 278,227 107,169 434,438 (30,949)
			788,885
			Total funds at 30 September 2022 £ 284,230 102,799 404,406 (73,465)
			717,970

19 Related party transactions

During the year the charity made the following related party transactions:

Pavilion in the Park (PIPS) Ltd

(Pavilion in the Park (PIPS) Ltd is a wholly owned trading subsidiary of The Alcohol Education Trust) During the year, expenses relating to the Pavilion in the Park are shared between The Alcohol Education Trust and Pavilion in the Park (PIPS) Ltd. At the balance sheet date the amount due from Pavilion in the Park (PIPS) Ltd was £22,461 (2022 - £10,957).

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